Help with DIY central sump.

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Steveo McNello

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2010
2,009
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53
SW Burbs of Chicago
Hey guys,

Just curious how and what I want in my sump. It's a 100G stock tank.

Waters going to drain into the filter socks (held up by a PVC frame screwed into the rim of the stock tank).

I'm also going to have a few bags of submerged lava rock.

My biggest question is what to make my bio tower out of. I have a separate pump to constantly cycle water from the reserve water in the sump. I don't want to use those storage drawers. Would two 6" diameter pvc sections work? Garbage cans are too wide and sump pit liners are expensive.

Anybody have any idea/sketches of what I could do?

Should I have the socks in a container with a hole in the bottom, that's inside another container with a bulkhead at the top? So the water does a come down and then goes up and drains kind of thing? Through the lava rock?

It's not a terribly big deal because I know I'll make something work, but want to be sure I maximize the space. It's going to filter my 180 and 125.

Thanks in advance!


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I don't see why that wouldn't work, I more depends on how much material you can fit in your sections of 6" pvc. I would also suggest trying to find some better bio material than lava rock. The internetz say that they have less surface area, so less effective. What I see more after using the stuff is that it's heavy as hell, and good luck trying to get rid of it if you decide you don't want it. Personally, I would try and find someone getting rid of some bio-balls before buying anymore lava rock.
 
This what I use as a biotower, it is 6" D clear PVC, about 4' tall, after biofiltration it acts as a fractionator, filled with lava rock. I got the DIY plan from koiphen.com.


I also have the same towers on my ponds, here is a video of one of those doing its job.
 
I'd use fish tanks for the towers, acrylic would be easier to work with but wouldn't be scared to use glass.

Could pick up leaker tanks cheap and use them for towers.

I use smaller tanks in line before the tub sump for the socks so I can use entire tank turnover through the bio towers without a recirculation pump.
 
DB, how would I get a tank to work with the openings and such? I'm thinking I'm just going to stack three 5 gallon buckets. Cheap and maneuverable.

And I think I'm missing what your last part meant haha.

I'm going to plug the bulkhead on the 125 side, keep that black bulkhead where it's at, and add the 3/4" bulkhead to the left of it for the drain.


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Steveo McNello said:
What do you mean by acrylic cut offs?
Click to expand...

off-cuts, not cut offs! (these are cut-offs; pic, may be a tiny bit NSFW if you're in an office full of conservatives/feminists!)
:D

If you go into a place that supplies acrylic they often have bargain bins with smaller pieces that have been cut off large sheets that they sell cheaply. Quite often they're long and narrow, which would be ideal for you. A little weld-on and you could easily make your own bio tower to whatever size you want.
 
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